This TfL Spot Features a Twisted Take on ‘The Hare and the Tortoise’

M&C Saatchi has unveiled an integrated campaign for Transport for London targeting young teenagers aged 11 – 14 to encourage responsible behaviour and persuade them to give their full attention to crossing roads.

With today’s teenagers operating in a fast, always-on world, the campaign aims to make ‘slow’ cool when crossing the road, in a re-imagination of the hare and the tortoise fable. And with 11-14 year-olds being disproportionately more at risk of being killed or seriously injured on the road than other pedestrians, the initiative is targeted at this age group.

The ad centres on two groups of teenagers – one group wearing hare masks and the other with tortoise masks for a fancy dress party – teasing each other from a distance. The hares run through a tunnel, while the tortoises walk slowly in an urban setting. As the film goes on, one of the hares get knocked down by a car ending with both parties taking off their masks revealing their shocked faces. The 60” second spot ends with the strapline ‘Think Slow, when crossing’.

The hard-hitting awareness campaign – running across VOD, cinema, social and outdoor from early March – builds on neuro-scientific research which suggests at this age young teens are less likely to exercise restraint. As a result, the majority of this age group killed or seriously injured (KSI) on London roads is due to not enough care being taken when crossing roads. The campaign invites teens to resist their internal impulses and to ‘Think Slow’.

Pippa MacSherry, Head of Marketing Operations at TfL, said: “We wanted to build on the success of our long running ‘Don’t let your friendship die on the road’ campaign whilst understanding the naturally impulsive behaviour of this audience. By encouraging a more considered approach to crossing the road, we hope to reduce the number of pedestrian road related collisions. The campaign updates and re-imagines the classic tale of the hare and the tortoise – to show how ‘slow’ wins out.”

Ed Palmer, Managing Partner at M&C Saatchi, said: “It’s perilously easy to patronise and finger wag with this audience. Putting a modern twist on a well-known fable allows us to land our message without resorting to the more well-trodden type of cautionary tale to which this audience has become inured. The creative approach was to make safe roadside behaviour more appealing and aspirational for this audience.”